Taking another step in becoming a hub for research in the future of food and agriculture, the World Food Center at the University of California Davis, named plant biologist Roger Beachy as its founding director Thursday.

Beachy, who will formally assume the role Jan. 1, said looming global food challenges underline the importance of the center’s mission, and there’s no better place to look for answers.

“This has got all the attributes for it,” he said of UC Davis, both in terms of research and being in the middle of the nation’s most productive agricultural region. “Most of the last 10 years I’ve spent in the Midwest, which is mostly commodity crops. But the breadth of what’s grown in California is so great, and it’s responsible for most of the parts of our diet that confer the vitamins and minerals that are so important.”

The university’s role as a world-class institution, along with its geographic location, were what attracted him to the job, he said.

In his new role, Beachy said, he’ll be tapping into local expertise directly from the university and industry. The center’s first year will be devoted to creating partnerships and identifying potential issues the center will tackle first, but Beachy said he thinks much of his time will be spent listening and determining what the center’s strengths and weaknesses are.

Though it’s too early to say what topics to approach first, he said he’s intrigued about the ties between agriculture, food health and nutrition, as well as how to link research and knowledge to investment and enterprise.

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